Hidden Pool

Hidden Pool games should be set up and played as standard games of VTES with the following additional rules:

Before the game begins, after every player has counted out his or her starting pool openly, he or she should place these pool counters in a cup or bowl which is deep enough to obscure view from the other seated players.

A player may look at and count the pool counters of his or her own cup at any time, without removing the counters from the cup.

A player may not look at or count the pool counters in any other player’s cup.

When a player gains pool he or she should count out the number of tokens to be added openly before placing them in the cup. Any other player may request to add those counters to the cup (without looking inside it).

When a player spends or burns pool he or she should remove and count the relevant number of counters for all other players to see.

When a player has no pool left he or she should reveal that his or her cup is empty.

Players may not make a written or electronic record of the pool expenditure of other players, although they may attempt to keep a count in their heads.

If a Methuselah plays any other card which requires his or her own pool to be counted (e.g. Failsafe) he or she should reveal the count of his or her cup to all other players before concealing it again.

Special Card Rules

The library card Parity Shift is played with temporary errata such that the target Methuselah should be selected blindly, and the acting player and the target should then both reveal their pool totals. If the target does not have sufficient pool then the action fails without a referendum.

The library card Transfer of Power is played with temporary errata such that if the referendum is successful, all Methuselahs should reveal their pool totals to determine who gives pool to the acting player.

The library card From a Sinking Ship is played with temporary errata such that the target Methuselah should be selected blindly, and the target should then reveal his or her pool total. If the target has too much pool the card is cancelled without effect.

The crypt card Malabranca is played with temporary errata such that his special action is attempted blind, and if it is successful your prey reveals his or her pool total. If it is less than yours the action fails without effect.